Hackensaw Boys - Charismo

Charismo is the Hackensaw Boys record you’ve been waiting to hear. The 11-track album feels like the zenith release of the band’s 17 years, gathering their diverse life experiences and myriad of roots influences, and crystallizing them into a magnum opus on the Hackensaw way of being. Traditional Appalachian and Delta music lay the groundwork, but it’s injected with a heavy dose of the contemporary, good-times-roll kind of spit and vinegar the band has become known for over the years.

Produced by Larry Campbell—who has lent his talents to Bob Dylan, Levon Helm and countless others—Charismo sees the band reeled in and slightly refined, though still as spirited as ever. The songs (all written by longtime Hackensaws David Sickmen and Ferd Moyse) are tinged with an attitude of scrappy resilience, spinning tales and metaphors of everyday, working class struggles and triumphs. With Campbell’s production, the Hackensaw’s somewhat casual, porch-front aesthetic is sharpened around the edges, focusing in on the simple beauty of their melodies and the earnestness in their delivery.

"The Hackensaw Boys’ Charismo is a ball end to end, and that is the main point of what they do. The 11 songs fly by in 37 minutes and leave me hungry for more. I hadn’t not heard anything new from them in a decade, and the new album totally charms and delights me. It has become my favorite of what I have heard of the Boys. A splendid time is guaranteed for all." - Michael Tearson, ﻿Sing Out!

Track Listing:

1. Don't Bet Against Me2. By and By3. Content Not Seeking Thrills (Ain't You?)4. Flora5. Happy for Us in the Down6. Limousin Lady7. Ol' Nick8. The Sweet9. Wolves Howling10. You Want Me to Change11. Worlds Upside Down